The present invention relates to a new and improved construction of an apparatus or installation for inserting or stuffing inserts into folded or bound, multi-sheet printed products or the like.
In its more specific aspects, the present invention relates to a new and improved construction of stuffing apparatus for inserting or stuffing inserts into multi-sheet printed products, especially into newspapers, which stuffing apparatus is of the type comprising a plurality of similar pockets each serving for the reception of a printed product or the like. These pockets are open at their top or upper region and are secured in an essentially uninterrupted or closely spaced row at endless revolving or circulating drive elements which move in a direction transverse to the direction of extent of the pocket opening. These pockets are successively moved past infeed stations for respectively infeeding the printed products and the inserts as well as past an unloading or discharge station for removing the finalized stuffed printed product. Furthermore, each pocket is provided with a mechanism or facility for opening the printed products to accomplish the insert stuffing operation.
Such type of product stuffing apparatuses or installations are particularly, although not exclusively, suitable for incorporating or stuffing inserts into printed products having an appreciable weight, for instance containing 100 sheets and more, so that the final product constitutes in toto a product package containing hundreds of loosely interstuffed sheets. This is particularly the case, for instance, for the weekend editions of newspapers in English-language countries.
A heretofore known prior art apparatus of the previously mentioned type has been disclosed, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,141, granted Jan. 29, 1985. With this prior art apparatus the pockets describe a circulating or revolving path of travel which is located in a horizontal plane. The mechanism provided within each pocket and serving for opening the printed product located in such related pocket comprises a multiplicity of movable elements. These elements are, first of all, constituted by a movable contact plate which forces the printed product introduced into the pocket against one of the walls of the related pocket. Additionally, such elements embody a pair of suction cups which engage in a controlled manner at the oppositely situated flat sides of the printed product and thereafter again separate from one another, resulting in the formation of a gap or opening in the printed product. Into this gap or opening there then engages as the third movable element a pivotable opening sword or element which, by virtue of its pivotal motion, completes the product opening operation.
Both the contact plate and also the suction cups and the opening swords are each controlled by a gear train which coacts with a follower element retained in its rest position by the spring force of a resilient or spring element. This follower is moved against the action of the spring by an appropriately configured, stationary cam structure or cam.
It will be apparent from the foregoing that the opening mechanism of the heretofore known apparatus not only requires an appreciable technological expenditure and equipment, but also consumes a great deal of drive power, since all of the movements of the movable elements and the gear train associated therewith are derived from the revolving motion of the "circulating pockets" in relation to the appropriately configured, stationary cam structures or cams.